I Know You
by Jerry236
Summary: Zuko had just been dumped by Mai at Chan's party, and is feeling down and emotional after their breakup. It is up to Ty Lee to cheer up Zuko, but the time they spend together at the beach fire gets a little more serious than they think.


**Disclaimer : I do not own Avatar.**

**Author's Note : This is a One-Shot story between Zuko and Ty Lee. This is for the Ty Luko/Ty Zulee fans. Enjoy.**

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The angered Zuko was roaming the beaches of Ember Island. As he walked, he couldn't help but think of the events that happened fifteen minutes ago. Zuko had remembered being kicked out of—or should I say, left Chan's party angrily. Not to mention that Mai had just broken up with him after their brief fight.

'_It's over, Zuko. We're done.' _Mai's words.

Those five words had echoed throughout Zuko's head nonstop. The girl he thought he loved had just dumped him. Maybe Mai was right. Zuko's just angry all the time. Zuko knew he needed time alone as he roamed the beach, passing by large rocks. As he looked up at the Ember Island hill, he saw his old summer house and sighed.

He walked on the rocky steps and noticed the ocean on his left. Suddenly, he remembered himself chasing Azula through the beach. As he walked closer, he remembered his Uncle Iroh holding him up a a baby and his first cousin Lu Ten building a sand castle. He stopped in front the abandoned house and attempt to open double-doors as he grappled the knob, but discovered it was locked. He tried two attempts of yanking before kicking his way in.

Inside of he summer house was completely abandoned. There was nothing else, but dusty pillars, a couple of empty vases and what had lied in front of him was an old family portrait of his family. Zuko had recalled it being ten years since that portrait was taken. Zuko had looked at father, himself, then his mother face. Zeuko remembered when Ursa gave him attention as a baby.

He picked up a plate made of dry clay with a small handprint in it. Zuko remembered he made that handprint as a baby and frowned. He placed a hand over that print, realizing it was too big now. He stood outside of the house and slid his back down on one of the pillars outside of the door holding the dry clay plate, reminiscing his childhood.

"Hi."

Zuko looked up to see Ty Lee standing in front of him with a plate of Fire Nation traditional food. "What are you doing here." Zuko asked.

"I saw everything that happened at the party. I was worried about you, so I followed you up all the way up here and—"This caused Zuko to glance at her with a look. "Oops." Ty Lee realized she had said a little too much.

"Please, leave me alone. I'm not in the mood."

"I-I brought you some food." She generously tried to offer Zuko a plate of food. "Perhaps, I can sit with you and—"

"I said just leave me alone!" he yelled, causing Ty Lee to flinch at that outburst. She took a step back and frowned at him. She could tell he was angry.

"Okay."

Ty Lee sniffed as she walked back down the stairs and fulfilled Zuko's wish by leaving him alone. Azula had arrived a few minutes later to retrieve Zuko.

"Ty Lee told me you were here." Azula stood before him.

"Those summers we spent here seemed so long ago. So much has changed." Zuko ignored Azula and placed the clay plate on the floor, reminiscing about the past.

"Come down to the beach with me. Come on. This place is depressing."

Azula took the lead of heading of leaving the old summer house and Zuko began to follow, not realizing he left the clay plate behind. Azula and Zuko met Ty Lee at a secret beach location where there are trees in the background and rocks for people to sit on.

Zuko looked around to if Mai was present, but she wasn't. "Where's Mai?" he asked Azula.

"She stayed at Chan's party. She's still not in the mood to talk to you, Zu Zu." Azula answered.

"I see." Zuko knew. He assumed that Mai had moved on in a short amount of time.

"I'll go get her. You two stay here." Before she took off, she informed Zuko on something. "Oh, and Zuzu?"

"What?"

"Be nicer to Ty Lee, will you?" Azula whispered as she left Zuko and Ty Lee all alone as she walked back to Chan's party to get Mai.

As the wind had blown, Ty Lee felt the wind breeze and a small chill pass her body and which caused her to shiver a little.

"I'm freezing!"

Zuko looked at Ty Lee and smiled. "I'll make a fire." He then looked all the way up at his old summer house. "There's plenty of stuff to burn in there."

Zuko walked up the stairs again and entered the summer house as Ty Lee stayed at the beach. Zuko stared at his family portrait one last time before snatching it off the wall and walked back down to the beach. Zuko had met Ty Lee whom already brought out a few small logs of firewood prepared.

"I brought the firewood." Ty Lee said.

"Thanks a lot." he said sarcastically.

Zuko noticed that Mai and Azula had not returned yet, so he wasted no time igniting his flames onto the firewood. The fire was mild. Not too big, nor too small either. It was just average. After lighting the firewood, Zuko could still feel the cold breeze pass him. Zuko he grabbed his family portrait and carelessly threw it into the flames.

"What are you doing?" Ty Lee asked in concern.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Zuko crossed hi arms.

"But, it's a painting of your family."

"You think I care?"

"I think you do." Ty Lee answered.

"You don't know, so why don't you just mind your own business?" Zuko gave her an attitude as he turned away.

Ty Lee sighed. "I know you." She she claimed that knew Zuko well than he thinks and she knew what he was going through.

"No you don't!" Zuko turned to her. "You're stuck in your little Ty Lee world where everything's great all the time, but it isn't!" Zuko decided to mock her as he flipped onto his palms on the sand. "I'm so pretty, I can walk on my hands. Woo!" his back had landed on the light sand as he flipped over. "Circus freak!" he said in a cold manner.

Ty Lee teared up as she witness him mocking her. "You know what, you're tight. I'm a circus freak. You wanna know why I joined the circus?" she begun to explain. "Do you have any idea what my whole life was like with six sisters who look exactly like me?" Zuko began to act like he didn't care.

"It was like I didn't have my own name!" she dropped on her knees and began to sob. "I joined the circus, because I was scared for the rest of my life of being a match set! At least I'm different now. And I don't care anymore. Circus freak is a Compliment!" she yelled.

"Whatever, circus freak." Zuko said as he sat up facing the dark ocean.

Ty Lee had gotten angrier by Zuko ignoring her, so she found and picked up a seashell from the sand and stood up frustrated. "At least you have your own life, Prince Zuko. You can easily ask for anything you want. I can't. So stop acting like you're the only one suffering, you selfish jerk!" she threw a seashell directly at him, hitting the back of his head.

Zuko growled as he felt the seashell hit the back of his head. Zuko looked at the shell that Ty Lee threw and jumped up onto his feet angrily, he was prepared to lash out at her, but he stopped himself as he saw the look on her face. A stream of tears ran down her pretty face and that's when he knew he went too far. He made her cry. Ty Lee stood in front of him Zuko crying with her hands cupping her face and visible tears falling into the sand.

Zuko witnessed her crying and started feeling a little guilt. He thought about his sister Azula, his ex-girlfriend Mei, and his uncle Iroh and thought about if they had saw them arguing, Azula and Mei would be mad and Iroh would be disappointed in Zuko. Zuko sighed. Deep down, he felt sorry. The only way he thought to fix this is that Zuko started being nice to her. As much as he didn't want to do it, but he had to the unthinkable. I mean, he was going to save it for Mai. Zuko walked up to Ty Lee whom was still crying.

"Hey."

"Eh?" Ty Lee looked up to see Zuko. "Zuko grabbed her smooth hands and immediately kissed her lips. "Mph!" Ty Lee's eyes widened in shock, less tears ran down her face. She could not believe it. She being kissed by the guy who mocked her. She always thought that Zuko and Mai were gonna get back together sooner or later, but never thought this would happen in hundreds of years. Soon, the kiss was broken and Zuko stood in front of the confused Ty Lee. She was left speechless for a few moments and her face was as pink strawberry cake.

"What was that... just now?" Ty Lee asked in a quiet voice.

Zuko stayed silent for a moment before answering. "Consider the kiss as an apology." Zuko turned his body towards the ocean.

Ty Lee blushed less. "Wait a minute. You can't just go around kissing people after you make them upset! I mean, not before you ask them first." she said nervously as she looked to him.

"What did you expect me to do? Leave you here crying all alone?" Zuko asked a rhetorically.

Ty Lee nodded her head no and smiled. "No. I don't think you would. You're not that kind of person."

"You don't know me." Zuko nodded his head no as he looked at the waves.

"I do know you. More than you think." Ty Lee said as she grabbed his hand.

Zuko turned his head towards her and noticed she's holding his hand. He jerked and snatched his hand back. "No you-" he stopped himself from saying something he might regret again. He sighed. "No you don't." he said in a calm tone.

"Then let me get to know you. The REAL you. Tell me, what bothers you?"

"N-no." Zuko denied.

"Aw come on. Please tell me." Ty Lee asked nicely.

"No!" Zuko gently pulled his arm back. "There's nothing I have to tell you." Zuko said irritated, then sat on one of the rocks that is around the firewood. "Just leave me alone."

Ty Lee sat next to Zuko on the rock. She noticed how lonely he was sitting alone, so she scooted her hips to sit closer next to the scarred prince. "Come on. Tell me." she begged.

"No! I don't have to tell you!" Zuko scooted inches away.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?" Ty Lee had leaned her chest closer on Zuko's right shoulder.

Zuko blushed a little as he noticed a bit of her cleavage. He looked at her cute face with a little annoyance and finally gave in to the acrobat and sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you." Ty Lee smiled at him as she won the argument. "Do you... know about my mother?"

"Lady Ursa? She was really nice." Ty Lee recalled.

"Yeah. Other than my uncle, she cared about me very much when I was a kid. My mother was always there for me when I needed her the most." he recalled her memory. "One day, she disappeared and I don't know why. I want to know what happened to her and why she left. I confronted my father and asked questions, but he refused to talk about her." He sighed. "I want to believe she's still alive out there somewhere. I want to find and bring my mother back." Zuko visualized her face as he stared at the fire.

"I'll help you find your mother, if you want me to." she offered to help Zuko.

"I appreciate it, but it's best if I do this alone." he suggested.

She sniffed. "Wow. After hearing that short story, that makes me miss your mother even more. Your mother was like a real mother to me." she said as she wiped a tear from her left eye.

"Don't you have your own parents?"

"I do, but my mother... died when I was young, and my father's a rich nobleman. He barely had any time to interact with me and my sisters."

In a way, Zuko could barely relate to her when it comes to fathers. Zuko touched his scar and remembered back when Zuko was left Ozai. "Father..." he mumbled.

Ty Lee heard Zuko mumbling. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I just remembered my father telling me things."

"Like what?"

"When I was a kid, he would favor my sister more than me, most of the time." Zuko explained.

"You mean, Azula?" she asked.

"Yeah. My father would always talk about how great she is. Everyone adored her. My father went as far as to saying that she was born lucky. He said I was lucky to be born at the time."

"I'm sorry, Zuko. I-"

"Don't be. You have nothing to do with my father."

Ty Lee felt sorry after hearing that. "Well, I don't care what anyone says. I'm happy that you were born." she comforted him by placing her hand on top of his.

Zuko looked at her and smiled a little. "Thanks."

"Um, Zuko? There's something I want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"What do you see me as?" she wanted to know Zuko's opinion.

"I don't really know. You were always Azula's best friend. I never thought of you as anything else." he said honestly.

"D-do you... like me?" she hesitated to ask in one sentence.

"What? Of course I do." Zuko answered.

She twiddled he thumbs as she hesitate to spit it out. "That's not what I meant, Zuko." her brownish-gray eyes had met his golden eyes. "I mean, do you... Like, like me?"

Zuko blushed as he knew where she was going with this. "Wh-why are you asking this now?" He jumped up nervously.

"Well. Since we're being honest with each other, I may as well be honest and tell you how I feel." she giggled.

Zuko couldn't erase the blush off his face after hearing that. "Ty Lee! I-I like Mai!" he said, nervously.

"I know Mai is my best friend, but what's wrong with me?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just that Mai and I have a long history together, that's all." he answered, as he crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry if I missed that opportunity." she apologized for no apparent reason.

"It's not your fault..." he begun to say. "I try to make her happy, but it's just like she doesn't even care." Zuko referred to earlier that day when Zuko tried to act like a boyfriend to her.

Ty Lee walked towards Zuko's side and comforted him. "It's not your fault. You're a great boyfriend."

"It's like she can't even express herself. It's like she's a big blah!" As he threw his arms downwards, Zuko accidentally caused the fire from the firewood to shoot up a couple of feet in the air.

"Eek!" Ty Lee shrieked as she jumped onto Zuko's side.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." Zuko apologized as he looked at her face. "It's just, I don't know what to do with her anymore." he hung his head down in depression.

"Do you want to get back with her?" she asked.

"No! I-I mean, yes! I don't really know..." Zuko was depressed. He sat down on the sand and leaned his back on the rock.

"I'm sure Mai has her reasons." Ty Lee sat down next to Zuko. "Sure, her aura could be dingy and gray... but still, she's one of my best friends."

"Yeah. You two are like two peas in a pod." Zuko commented on their the girl's relationship. "You're the happy and energetic girl while Mai is the dark and depressed girl."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I guess she isn't really the one for me." Zuko pouted, then looked down and picked up a round smooth brown rock. "Do you want this?" he offered her a smooth round brown rock.

"Of course, I'll take it. Thank you." Ty Lee smiled at Zuko and took the rock, only to bet met with a mild smile by Zuko. Ty Lee thought in her head to make Zuko feel much better. "I know just the thing that would make you feel better."

"What?"

"You need a girlfriend! And not just any girlfriend... one that can easily put a smile on her face once in a while." Ty Lee grinned at him as she used her index fingers to put a smile on her face.

"Well, I guess you need to get yourself a boyfriend too." Zuko stated.

"Well, too be honest, I've been looking for one for a while and I found the perfect candidate as my boyfriend. He's strong, brave, cute, independent, and... I know him." she had pondered. "Luckily, I happen to know that guy."

"Well, good luck with that."

"Tell me, Zuko. What kind of girlfriend do you want?" she asked, as laid her head on his shoulder.

Zuko looked at the stars in the far night sky. "I guess I want someone that I can settle down with, someone who listens to me and understands the pain I am going through. Someone I can have fun with, someone who can express their self, some one I can-" He turned his head only to meet a loving Ty Lee's gaze, as she moved her head closer to his.

"You found her." Ty Lee whispered. Zuko found himself lying on the sand. He arched his back so he could sit up. Within a second, Ty Lee crawled closer to his chest, surprisingly smooched Zuko on the lips.

She eventually broke the kiss and connected her forehead with his, she whispered in his left burned ear. "I love you."

"Do you think this could work between us?" he asked and she answered with a nod. Zuko responded by kissing her back in a romantic way. He slipped his tongue in her mouth and caressed it. He could hear her moaning as their tongues had made contact. Somehow, Ty Lee was able win in dominance when it came to tongue wrestling. Zuko finally let go and bit her lower lip as she continued to moan.

In Zuko's mind, it felt so good. So good, that it was too good to be true. This was different from the few times he kissed Mai. Unlike Mai, Ty Lee was kissing him with actual passion. He could tell that Ty Lee was enjoying and giving it her all. Zuko had imagined himself in a dark space, he and the pink wearing acrobat were in the center of it all. Ty Lee had never kissed a boy in her life before. She would attract boys here and there, but wasn't serious enough to start a dating relationship. She had an awakened craving for Zuko.

The kiss was finally broken at last. Zuko had gotten up from the sand and brought Ty Lee up on her feet. "You were right, you do know me."

Ty Lee chuckled. "See? I told you."

"Thanks for your help, Ty Lee. I appreciate it." He thanked the acrobat. She responded as her eyes met the ground as her cheeks blushed as red as the color of Zuko's light scar. All of a sudden, Mai, her best friend had appeared in her mind. She frowned as she thought about Mai's feelings. "What's the matter?" he asked in concern.

"So, um... does this make us, you know... a thing?" Ty Lee asked, as her eyes met his again.

"Only if you want it to work." Zuko answered her question.

"But, what about Mai? Don't you have feelings for her?" she was concerned if Mai was still in his mind.

He sighed again. "I know where you're going with this. You think I might still have feelings for Mai. Too be honest, I still care for Mai, but only as a friend now."

"Um, Zuko can I-"

Before she could speak, Zuko placed his index finger over her mouth to silence her. He knew what she was going to ask, and he nodded without a second thought. Ty Lee gasped in happiness. She raised her right hand towards Zuko and placed it on his face scar under his eye.

Zuko placed his hand over hers, then brought it down. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body closer to his. "Perfect." he muttered.

Ty Lee gazed at him lovingly. "Kiss me, prince Zuko." she whispered, then closed her eyes and puckered her lips together. Zuko didn't want to keep her waiting any longer, so he made his lips meet hers once again, sharing their second kiss together. After a few minutes of making out, Zuko broke the kiss and finally lied her down on the sand, facing the night sky. Zuko put the flame out and lied next to her and the two gazed upon the stars. Ty Lee's body moved towards Zuko's for warmth. She leaned her cheek onto Zuko's bare chest as he stood still.

"Zuko?" she called.

"Yeah?"

"Can we come back and do this again next year?" she yawned.

Zuko looked at her drowsy face and chuckled. "Of course."

"Thank you. Your feel so smooth..." Ty Lee yawned as she rested her head onto his chest.

"I'll protect you, my pink circus freak." Zuko said as he glanced down at the now sleeping Ty Lee. He looked at the sky and smiled. He had finally found the girl he was looking for, and she was sitting right next to him sleeping on his shoulder. "This is the best day of my life."

What Zuko didn't know was that Azula was watching the duo from the background hiding behind a large rock. She never went to go retrieve Mai, she just wanted to what if something would happen if she had left Zuko and Ty Lee alone. And now she knows.

"I'm a really good matchmaker." Azula smirked.

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**Author's Note : Hello everyone, this is my very first oneshot story, nor will it be the last. Ty Luko is one of my favorite shippings in Avatar History. **

**I personally thought this shipping was underrated. Almost any fan of Ty Lee and Zuko could notice the connection between them. Ty Lee telling Zuko that she knew him, that made me quickly understand what she was talking about. How he was hurting inside and how hard life was for him. **

**I rewatched "The Beach" episode and noticed a deep connection between them, but it never had taken root. So I thought, why not make it where it was just Zuko and Ty Lee alone at the fire.**


End file.
